Identify this vest from Ali express

[Guppy]

So I am browsing Ali express and notice a listing for pants. The pants are all right, but what catches my attention is the vest worn by the photo model.

I wrote the merchant to ask if it was available, but they couldn't help me.

I scoured aliexpress for as long as I could stand to looking for the vest, and came up with a few that were similar, but they look like a copy of a copy - - similar pocket layout, but different proportions that look off, different buttons, and nothing like the leather used in the first one I saw, etc.

But the one from the pants model eludes me still.

I also saw a RRL hunting jacket on ebay that had the same general pocket layout but with sleeves and a zipper rather than buttons, and a detachable collar.

I'm most interested to find the exact vest from the pants listing, but I'm also interested in the design, if there's any info out there on the original design maker, etc.

Any leads or info appreciated.

 

[Monitor]

I'm not sure it's anything in particular. There are lots of these outdoor / game leather vests out there, though the one on the model reminds me of Tenjin's earlier piece I can't seem to find photos of anymore. Similar cut & higher neck opening.

My suggestion is, go through Yahoo Auctions. If it's something fancy, it's bound to come up.

This is Tenjinworks CV03, vest that I particularly liked. . .
http://chehauchiang.blogspot.com/2017/02/tenjin-works-cv03-leather-vest.html

 

[Blackadder]

So I am browsing Ali express and notice a listing for pants. The pants are all right, but what catches my attention is the vest worn by the photo model.

View attachment 383943

I wrote the merchant to ask if it was available, but they couldn't help me.

I scoured aliexpress for as long as I could stand to looking for the vest, and came up with a few that were similar, but they look like a copy of a copy - - similar pocket layout, but different proportions that look off, different buttons, and nothing like the leather used in the first one I saw, etc.

View attachment 383945
View attachment 383946
View attachment 383947

But the one from the pants model eludes me still.

I also saw a RRL hunting jacket on ebay that had the same general pocket layout but with sleeves and a zipper rather than buttons, and a detachable collar.

View attachment 383944

I'm most interested to find the exact vest from the pants listing, but I'm also interested in the design, if there's any info out there on the original design maker, etc.

Any leads or info appreciated.

It's Freewheelers.
http://freewheelers.co.jp/blog/archives/category/new-arrivals/page/44
If I am not mistaken, the photo is from Speedway, John Lofgren's shop.
A different outdated listing on Speedway
https://speedwaysendai.com/products/1741154?_pos=5&_sid=6d235ee60&_ss=r

 

[Monitor]

It's Freewheelers.
http://freewheelers.co.jp/blog/archives/category/new-arrivals/page/44
If I am not mistaken, the photo is from Speedway, John Lofgren's shop.

Right! And I saw it, actually, when I was actively looking for a perfect vest but then I saw the back and the two pockets and the thing must've immediately gotten deleted from my mind.

 

[Mrfrown]

Its a nice one

Nice enough to put it on the backburner for a potential JL made down the line, but without those back pockets.

Doesn't the opening over the middle button lead to a large pocket?

 

[Mrfrown]

Also having just looked around a bit, the back pockets aren't really so bad. Especially on the textile versions they don't stand out as much.

 

[Guppy]

I managed to score one of these Freewheelers Bridgeport vests on Yahoo! Auctions Japan, and it was delivered a few minutes ago. Am very happy with the fit and quality.

I didn't expect that I'd be able to find one of these so quickly, and in my size, so when it appeared on the auction site a little before Christmas, I was surprised. I planned to bid on it, but then the listing was retracted early before I could. I was disappointed, but not really because it's so expensive that I don't mind not buying it. But then it got listed again, and this time it went through to completion, and I was the only bidder.

It's the most expensive leather vest I'll ever buy, I'm pretty sure. But boy is it nice. I am not sure the leather, but if I had to guess I'd go with deerskin. I wish I could tell for sure. It is softer and more supple than the horsehide they used in my Switchyard jacket, and thicker.

Fit is as perfect as I could hope for, and it's comfortable. The quality of the stitching is perfect, and the leather is fairly amazing. I couldn't be happier with it.

The pockets are interesting. There's a two tier affair going on with the front pockets. The upper front pockets are handwarmer style, open, and what's odd about them is that the bottom of these upper pockets form the flap of the lower front pockets. There's a breast pocket at wearer's right, and two fairly large pockets on the rear of the vest, what I imagine might have been intended in the originals these were designed from as game pockets, although they seem rather too small for anything but, say, sparrows. There's an interior pocket as well.

If I can find a FW Jerkin vest, I'd like to pick one of those up, too.

 

[Edward]

Its a nice one

Nice enough to put it on the backburner for a potential JL made down the line, but without those back pockets.

Doesn't the opening over the middle button lead to a large pocket?

Yeah, they do. It's common referred to as a 'half moon' hunting vest. Usually they come in denim / canvas /tweed, though. SJC did a long time ago sample a leather version, but it never went into production. Not seen a leather with it before.

I rather like the design of the one in the OP. I have seen all sorts of variations of it all over both eBay and Etsy - black, brown, green, black with red stitching, and on, and on. Problem is that there's so little guarantee what you'll get in the mail. Some claim to be cowhide, some lamb, some have both "Real! Leather!" types listed in the same auction. I'm going to hang fire until somewhere where I know I'll get what I know I will like starts doing 'em.

I did buy one of these a while ago:

Mine is the all-black version. I wanted it as a practical vest/jacket for travelling in warmer weather when it's too warm for a jacket. Plenty of pockets (including a big one at the back that will fit a novel!) for passport, keys, tickets, and wallets for currency of departure and arrival.

These all-leather versions still appeal, though - and are a more stylish, less 'biker' take on the same theme.

 

[Edward]

View attachment 383947

This one is quite striking - I like that reddish shade of brown with the brass. The top pocket looks big enough to be practical too. Looks like it might be goat?

Would totally wear one of these if this is as good in terms of materials and manufacture as it looks in the picture.

With the notable exception of Aero's Shackleton (which is in my sights already, of course), there don't seem to be many options in leather vests that aren't very much MC Style or of country and western type vibe. Are we alone in liking these, or is it a hole in the market?

 

[Guppy]

This one is quite striking - I like that reddish shade of brown with the brass. The top pocket looks big enough to be practical too. Looks like it might be goat?

Would totally wear one of these if this is as good in terms of materials and manufacture as it looks in the picture.

With the notable exception of Aero's Shackleton (which is in my sights already, of course), there don't seem to be many options in leather vests that aren't very much MC Style or of country and western type vibe. Are we alone in liking these, or is it a hole in the market?

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As you say, they look good in pictures but whether you are getting what they photographed is anyone's guess.

 

[Edward]

As you say, they look good in pictures but whether you are getting what they photographed is anyone's guess.

What makes me wary is the uniformity of the pictures - i.e. exactly the same pictures - so many of these sellers are using. Absent a common brand name, it does start to look like library pictures lifted from somewhere else. I've seen this business model a lot in the tourist parts of town in Beijing, often with suits. You pick the designer style you like from that brand's paper catalogue (this long predates eBay as a model), and they make it for you. The end result can and will vary. Some places make outstanding stuff for buttons, relative to a Western currency, while others sell you the novelty of having a suit made for pennies in twenty-four hours, but not necessarily a quality product. I'm sure some of the sellers making these produce excellent stuff, but others less so. While not a huge amount of money compared to some of the brands we like in these parts, it's still a bit too big of a gamble for my tastes. This is probably where a known quantity like five star or Wested could do well.

 

[Guppy]

What makes me wary is the uniformity of the pictures - i.e. exactly the same pictures - so many of these sellers are using. Absent a common brand name, it does start to look like library pictures lifted from somewhere else. I've seen this business model a lot in the tourist parts of town in Beijing, often with suits. You pick the designer style you like from that brand's paper catalogue (this long predates eBay as a model), and they make it for you. The end result can and will vary. Some places make outstanding stuff for buttons, relative to a Western currency, while others sell you the novelty of having a suit made for pennies in twenty-four hours, but not necessarily a quality product. I'm sure some of the sellers making these produce excellent stuff, but others less so. While not a huge amount of money compared to some of the brands we like in these parts, it's still a bit too big of a gamble for my tastes. This is probably where a known quantity like five star or Wested could do well.

I have no way of knowing for sure how it works in each circumstance, but my assumption is that vendors on Ali Express are either direct merchants selling what they make, OR are resellers.

Resellers probably buy a lot from a manufacturer, which includes promotional materials like photos, ad copy, sizing info, basically they are buying everything they need to set up a store, and all they need to do is set a price and fulfill orders.

The problem (well, A problem) is that they will (sometimes) mix photos of the "original" and put them in the listing next to the actual item they have. You'll see a photo that is clearly a rip off from a movie, or a photo from Thedi's or RRL's or whoever's website or Instagram feed, and a photo of their inferior copy of the same thing. And it's easy to be fooled by the switcheroo.

Even if they're using all original images, sellers will have the same item as another seller, but at a different price. And so you can wonder, is there a reason? Is the cheapest seller the one to buy from? Or are they selling the same product but inferior quality that failed to pass inspection, eg factory seconds? Is this merchant the one that RRL works with for their goods that are made in China, and these are the exact same quality as RRL but doesn't have the branding and label? Or did they just use the same patterns but with cheaper materials, less skilled machinists, etc?

There's no way to know until you get the goods delivered, making everything a gamble, but usually the product you receive isn't the same as what they photographed.

This is more often than not the case with leather items, while textiles are usually acceptable/indistinguishable quality from the photos, particularly when dealing with the "official" merchant stores from a "name brand" Chinese maker, like Bronson, Sauce Zhan, or Red Tornado. The stuff with literally no name brand, I've learned to just stay away from, or else accept that I'm throwing away money, and if I'm actually happy with it, it's a surprise bonus.

But those official brand stores tend to be selling their goods at full price and whatever savings you can get buying from China is minimal compared to buying from their English language stores and US resellers/importers. Although they usually have better stock availability and you can maybe save $5-10 most of the time, but you'll wait 4-6 weeks for shipping, and returns can be a bit difficult.

 

[Edward]

I have no way of knowing for sure how it works in each circumstance, but my assumption is that vendors on Ali Express are either direct merchants selling what they make, OR are resellers.....

Yes, I've dabbled a bit with Aliexpress. It does seem to be a mix of all of the above - as ever, experiences vary, and alas the minority of negative experiences can overshadow the positive. Fine for small novelties like pens and things, but I'd be wary of anything too expensive. I did buy a Bob Dong wabash cap on there last year. Seller sent a size too small - one down from what I had ordered - and the resolution system refunded all my money, and told me to keep the cap. Tried a second time.... I received a cap of a different (no-label) brand, different design, multi-sizer... (think: order a USAAF A3 cap repro, get a one-size-fits-all green cotton baseball cap back in the post, that kind of difference). Sort of thing you'd see for sale for a tenner in Camden market. Not something I'd have paid for at that price - guess seller figured I wanted any striped, denim cap. With that one, despite being the wrong thing, I was offered the option of send it back or take a discount, I guess because it theoretically fitted. Odd decision, but the mediation system did work quite well. In the end, I had to eat the return postage - my original outlay was fully refunded - but months later the cap ended up back with me in the post as the address the seller had provided for returns was listed as "insufficient"! It went to the charity shop, where I hope it brought them a little money and somebody got to enjoy it. All in, not a bad experience as such, though certainly it did flag up the practical challenges if something isn't right. Not much different than eBay in that respect.

 

[Canuck Panda]

I've bought from both Aliexpress and Taobao and from different sellers on both platform.
All sellers are selling the same stuff from the same factories. They are basically selling agents for those factories. And the factories provides marketing material...etc. Factories with deeper pockets have professional photos. And ghetto factories just rips off images from internet search. The quality of the jackets are good. Material is always thin, 2.5oz or less, but very well stitched.
The difference in price is a scam, preying on the psychology of "something must be wrong with cheaper". Surprisingly there are items on Aliexpress priced lower than those on Taobao. So some Taobao sellers have also figured this psych tactic out.
There are rare gems. But very rarely. Hence the literal translation of Taobao. The rare gems are usually one time only special runs in limited quantities. No one really knows. That's part of the con. Out of the dozen jackets I bought, only one. A Langlitz Deathhead copy, the leather is close to 5oz thick, real motorcycle jacket. Is it worth pissing money away on the rest thin leather jackets, no. But it is also not Japan priced deathhead.
Aliexpress and Taobao are really for the Chinese domestic or the rest of Asia market. There is very little advantage for the Western shoppers.

 

[Guppy]

In case people are interested in the less expensive knockoffs:

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[/URL]

US $132.13 90%OFF | Mens Real Leather Vest Vintage Genuine Leather Cowhide Sleeveless Jackets Biker Vest Casual Waistcoat High Quality Plus Size 5XL

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[/URL]

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[/URL]

As you say, they look good in pictures but whether you are getting what they photographed is anyone's guess.

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